Haunted
by M. Marchand
Summary: Don and Terry never had a chance.Warning: Character Death
1. Chapter 1

Acknowledgments:  
Omi as always  
Everyone who has been emailing me condolences for my loss  
Kim for becoming my newest super supportive beta

Disclaimers:  
"A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend" - Willow, Buffy the Vampire Slayer  
I do not own the characters Don, Charlie or Terry nor do I have any rights to anything related to the TV show Numb3rs. I plead fair use and claim only my own writing and characters.

* * *

Chapter 1:

They're suited up, they have the house surrounded and Don, as team leader, gives the 'execute' order. They rush the house; Don though the front door, Terry leading a second group of agents coming in through the back door. It's a textbook takedown. No shots fired, all suspects in custody within a matter of seconds.

It's afterwards that everything falls apart.

Don makes sure all the suspects are loaded in the van before it leaves then turns to find Terry standing alone in front of the suspects' house. She's doubled over as if she's going to be sick so Don heads over to her to find out what's going on. Terry's a seasoned agent and it's not like her to get sick at a crime scene.

"Terry..." He begins as he approaches her. She looks up and Don's concern ups a notch when he sees how pale she looks. "You all right?"

"I don't feel so great," she says weakly. She puts a hand to her chest and tries to rub her left shoulder only she still has her bullet proof vest on and it's in the way.

Don notices this and reaches for her to help. "Let's get this vest off you, then." Before he can undo the straps, she leans into him, unsteady on her feet. "Terry?" Don's beyond worried at this point. This is really not like Terry.

She releases her weight and goes limp, slipping to the ground. Unprepared, Don almost doesn't catch her before she hits the ground. He lays her down carefully and yells for the paramedics.

He hears her release a breath and then realizes with a chill he hasn't heard her take a new one. He puts his face up to her mouth and feels nothing. A strong panic takes hold of him but he's in control enough to check her pulse. He tries her wrist then her neck two times.

Nothing.

Don's heart is pounding faster now, almost as if it's trying to make up for the fact that Terry's isn't beating at all. He curses; wasting valuable seconds trying to get her Kevlar vest off so he can give her CPR. He yells for the paramedics again but doesn't hear the reply. There's too much noise in his head to hear.

The vest finally comes away and Don pounds on her chest five times before stopping to breathe air into her lungs. He repeats the cycle murmuring, "Come on... come on..." as if she will hear him and stop this craziness.

Hands try to pull him away and he resists, thinking they want him to give up on her but it's the paramedics. The have a defibrillator and need him to back away so they can shock her back to life.

Only it doesn't work.

They shock her three times. Don begs for a fourth time but the paramedics just shake their heads. One checks their watch to record the time of death.

It's 3:13.


	2. Chapter 2

Haunted 2/3

* * *

Chapter 2:

It's 3:13.

Sane people are asleep at this hour. Don's not among them.

Twelve hours. Twelve hours since Terry left him.

That's what she did, he thinks bitterly. She left me.

That's not the way it was supposed to go. She was supposed to convince him what a big lug he'd been for not wanting to get back together when they were finally working in the same city. She was supposed to convince him it wasn't all about work, that love and family were important too. That family didn't just mean parents and siblings, it meant starting a new family of your own.

Now there'd be no kids, no carpooling, no house in the suburbs. Just a lonely apartment in the city and no one to share it with when the day was done.

Don wasn't much of a drinker but this seemed like the best excuse ever to get completely drunk.

He'd waited until Charlie fell asleep first then snuck back out to the kitchen to drown his grief in alcohol.

His little brother had been shocked by Terry's sudden death as well but somehow managed to realize it was more important for him to take care of Don. He'd not left Don alone for a moment since he rushed from Cal Sci to be with him.

They'd cried and hugged and sat together. Talked when Don wanted to talk and sat in silence when he couldn't bear to speak.

He'd managed to convince Charlie he was tired and got him off to sleep in the spare room. Don had no intention of sleeping, couldn't imagine how sleep would come feeling the way he did. So he waited, knowing Charlie always fell asleep quickly, and then came back out to start the real grieving process.


	3. Chapter 3

Haunted 3/3

* * *

Chapter 3:

"You are a big lug, you know."

Don knew he must have succeeded in his quest to get drunk since he was hallucinating Terry standing in his kitchen.

"Yeah. That's me. Stupid idiot."

"Not stupid, Don," Terry said kindly. "Just clueless."

Don looked at her wistfully, wishing he could run up and pull her into his arms; have everything that happened earlier not be real.

But it was real. The Terry haunting his kitchen wasn't.

"We would have been great together," She said, sounding wistful herself.

"We were great together once upon a time," Don misted over remembering their Academy days.

"Yeah..." She echoed. "Still can't believe you took me to a laundromat though."

"Hey," Don protested. "I thought that was a great date!"

Terry smiled. "Yeah, I thought so too, but I liked giving you a hard time about it."

"We were never going to be the normal hearts and flowers couple, were we?" Don asked.

Terry shook her head. "No, more like handcuffs and pass the police blotter and the milk."

Don managed a weak chuckle at that. "We would have made it work though."

"Yeah," Terry agreed. "We would have eventually. But now..."

"Now..." Don couldn't continue. His grief rose up anew and sobs wracked his body. He put his head down on the table, pushing his empty glass aside, and let the pain envelop him.

He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and jerked his head up only to find Charlie there, his face full of concern.

Charlie looked at Don then at the nearly empty bottle in front of him. "Oh, Don..."

Don was too far gone to stop, though, and Charlie patiently wrapped his arms around his brother and waited for him to cry himself out.

Once Don regained some control he managed to choke out, "I saw her... Here."

Charlie gave him a puzzled look, not understanding.

"I saw her! Terry! She was here in my kitchen! She told me I was stupid and I should have married her when I had the chance."

Charlie said gently, "That doesn't sound like Terry. She would have never called you stupid, Don."

"Yeah well, I said I was stupid and she kind of agreed. Said I was clueless."

Charlie offered Don a tiny smile. "That sounds more like her."

"I should have, you know. I should have married her. I just..." Don shook his head. There were too many reasons... No, not reasons... excuses, why he hadn't tried to get back together with Terry.

Charlie just nodded in understanding.

"Maybe it's good you didn't," He said softly.

"What are you saying? That she'd have made a lousy choice for a wife because she had a congenital heart problem that no one knew about? We still would have been happy."

"Yes, you would have. And when she died, you'd have had to raise your kids without her. You and I both know how hard it was when Mom died and we were grown. Can you imagine if you'd had to explain to a four year old that Mommy's never coming home again?"

Don's tears came back to him as he imagined that scenario. It wouldn't have been fair but then would they have had kids if they had known...? Don shook his head. They wouldn't have known she was going to die. No one had known she had a defective heart until the autopsy.

"Yeah..." Don couldn't say more but knew that Charlie had a point. "So what do I do now then?"

"Well, first we get rid of this," Charlie took the near empty bottle and poured the remainder down the sink.

"And next we get you to bed."

"And after that?"

"You do what Dad did. Take one day at a time until you figure out how to live in a world without her in it."

Don nodded sadly, glancing back at the kitchen as Charlie guided him into his bedroom.

"I miss her."

"She'll always be with you, Don," Charlie said softly.

With one last glance at the now empty kitchen, Don sighed. "I hope so."


End file.
